The family of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has strongly criticised the British government, accusing it of playing a conspiratorial role in his continued detention and trial in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the family’s spokesperson, they expressed deep concern and disappointment over what they described as Britain’s historical and ongoing betrayal of the Igbo people.
Recalling events from the past, the family linked Britain’s current posture to its involvement in the Biafran War between 1967 and 1970, where British support to Nigeria reportedly led to the death of over five million Biafrans.
“The United Kingdom has never ceased its assault on Biafrans. The tactics may have changed, but the intent remains the same,” the statement read.
The family pointed to Britain’s silence in 2021 during Kanu’s controversial abduction and alleged torture, questioning why the UK, Kanu’s country of citizenship, remained passive in the face of such violations.
“What exactly did the Igbo do to Britain to warrant such sustained hostility? Is it our ingenuity, our resilience, or our refusal to be subjugated by post-colonial structures in disguise?” the family asked.
According to them, each time an Igbo leader stands up against oppression, Britain is quick to interfere in ways that ultimately undermine such leadership. They alleged that Britain’s animosity towards the Igbo has endured well beyond the colonial era.
“What Britain could not achieve through bombing and starvation in 1967, it now seeks through legal manipulations and international deceit,” the family added.
The statement went on to criticise the British High Commission in Nairobi for what they described as inaction during Kanu’s abduction. They also accused the UK Foreign Office of ignoring violations of international human rights and consular protocols.
The family further condemned British diplomatic efforts as disingenuous, especially during visits by consular officers to Kanu in the custody of Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS).
“During one of those visits, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu asked a simple question: ‘Why is the UK allowing a British citizen to be prosecuted for broadcasts made in Britain, where both IPOB and Radio Biafra are legal?’ The response he got was vague: ‘We’ll get back to you.’ But they never did,” the family said.
They called on the UK government to acknowledge its role in what they called Kanu’s illegal rendition and demanded a public admission of guilt.
They revealed that shortly after that consular visit, Nigeria’s former Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, amended the charges against Kanu, removing ‘London, United Kingdom’ as the location where the alleged offences were committed.
The family argued that this move was not coincidental, but a deliberate effort, possibly encouraged or endorsed by British authorities, to erase the UK’s legal jurisdiction in the case.
They lamented that despite IPOB’s legal status in Britain and the absence of any UK court order banning its operations, the British government has continued to ignore the unlawful nature of Kanu’s trial in Nigeria.
“The truth is well-known among international legal experts: the alleged offences didn’t happen in Nigeria. The UK has primary jurisdiction. Kanu’s abduction violates British extradition laws, the Commonwealth Mutual Assistance Treaty, and global norms of justice,” the statement added.
They criticised the British Foreign Office’s justification that it “cannot interfere in a Nigerian trial,” calling it both dishonest and cowardly.
“This claim is a lie. The UK has interfered, but only to cover its own tracks—by hiding evidence, enabling Nigerian impunity, and escaping accountability for its part in this injustice,” the family stated.
They declared that their position was not motivated by anger but by resistance.
“We stand in defiance of Britain’s long-standing deception in Africa. We reject the silence that permits crimes against our people. And we challenge the notion that a British citizen can be kidnapped, tortured, and prosecuted abroad while the UK remains inactive.”
They demanded that if Britain cannot protect all its citizens equally, it should admit so publicly and allow the world to judge its hypocrisy.
The family outlined their demands to the UK government: to accept public responsibility for its role in Kanu’s unlawful rendition, to insist on his return to either Kenya or the UK, to halt all legal and diplomatic support for his trial in Nigeria, and to launch a parliamentary investigation into the involvement of British High Commissions in both Nairobi and Abuja.
“If anything happens to our brother, the UK will bear full responsibility. Not because it stood idle, but because it chose to stand with the oppressors. Silence in the face of tyranny is not neutrality—it is complicity. Let this truth shake the conscience of the world. Let history record our warning. Let justice not be buried beneath the weight of diplomatic falsehoods.”
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